Top 5 Australian coffee shops in London: plus iPhone app to find more

Long renowned as a nation of tea-drinkers, the Brits have welcomed the global coffee chains with open arms. 

It seems like you can't walk down any street in Central London without falling over a Starbucks, Caffe Nero, Costa Coffee or other mediocre chain cafe pumping out burnt coffee fumes and watery "espresso-based beverages".

But with a large Australian -- and New Zealander -- expat population, there are a few places we love to get good coffee.

Most of them are clustered around Soho in Central London:

• Lantana, on Charlotte Street, near Goodge Street
• Flat White, on Berwick Street in the heart of Soho 
• Milk Bar, on Bateman Street between Tottenham Court Road and Leicester Square, is the younger sibling of Flat White
• Fernandez & Wells, on Beak Street just north of Piccadilly Circus
• Gail's Artisan Bakery, with shops in Battersea, Chiswick, Crouch End, Exmouth Market, Hampstead, Notting Hill, Queens Park and St John's Wood

If all else fails -- or if you're too far away from Soho to make it worthwhile -- try the London's Best Coffee app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, made by the same people as the New York's Best Coffee app we reviewed last month.

It works the same way as the NYC version, with a GPS locator and neighbourhood search function that tells you where it is, when it's open and how to get in touch with them.

There's also a helpful snapshot of what the storefront looks like for when you get there. The app also gives out some great coffee geek info on the shop's coffee beans, grinder and machines.

The app will set you back A$1.19 in the Australian iTunes store, £0.59 in the UK store or US$0.99 if you've followed our directions to get a US-based iTunes account.

What's your favourite London coffee haunt? Share your insider tips in a comment below, or tweet us: @AusBT

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.